Holder for individual drinking-cups.



J. B. FORSYTH. HOLDER POR INDIVIDUAL DRINKING CUPS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3o, 1912.

1,025,909, PatentedMay'glQlZ.

`UNTTED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

lrAivrEs BRANDER roEsYTH, 0E BosToN, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIeN'oE To EDWARD ni.

STONE AND JAMES B."FORSYTH, COPARTNERS .UNDER THE NAME AND STYLE 0F STONE & FORSYTH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. l

HOLDER FOR INDIVIDUAL DRINKING-CUPS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented May 7', 1912.

Application led' January 30, 1912. Serial No. 674,264.

yand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in' Holders for Individual DrinkingCups, of whichthefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a holder for individual drinking cups.

The object of the invention is toprovide a holder that will deliver such drinking cups singly as desiredfrom the original carton or package in which they are placed forI sale.

Accordingly a feat-ure of the invention consists in the means afforded for utilizing the paper carton inclosing the nest of such cups as packed therein for sale, and for withdrawing the cups therefrom one by one as required for use, thus preventing the unsanitary and otherwise objectionable conditions to which the nest of cups would be exposed by the handling that would be required to place thelnin t separate receptacle for the abovepurposef In carrying Ithe invention into effect the 'closed end'of the paper carton covering the bottom cup of the series'packed therein is opened, vand then thecarton is placed with its vopen end lowermost upon an apertured' bracket, so that the lowermost cup of the nested cups will project through the bracket in a position to be grasped by the hand. lA

retainer, preferably of yielding material such as a ring of rubber, is located in said bracket adjacent to its aperture and is held in place by the carton, Thisl retainer surrounds the cups and allows the lowermost cup tobe drawn down and out, but withholds the next cup with sufficient friet-ion to allow the* lowermost cup to be separated from the others without detaching any of the remaining cups. Means may also be provided for attaching the carton to the bracket to prevent unauthorized detachment of the carton from the bracket. By employing the carton as the holder, the necessity ,of a glass or other receptacle is obviated with a consequent saving in expense, and furthermore, where such glass individual cup holders or other receptacles are provided it is necessary to remove the cups from the carton and place them 1in the receptacle. This is sirable as it renders additional handling@ the cups necessary. With the present invention, the cups are manufactured and packed under Athoroughly sanitary conditions, and are 'not handled or touched again until drawn from the holder for use one at a time.

I will describe my invention in the following specification and point outI the novel features thereof in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing Figure l is a front-elevation of the device complete with a carton in positiony on the bracke t,-I ig. 2

is a fragmentary rear elevation of the bracket and a portion of the carton, and Fig. j3 is a longitudinalvertical section taken onthe line 1%-3 in Fig. l.

The para ned paper cups 10 are nested in lquantities to suit, usually about twenty tive or mutiples thereof, and packed in a paper carton 12, having its ends closed by flaps 14, Lor in any other suitable manner. In order to use the cups, the bottom end of the carton, that is, the end nearest the closed ends of the cups, is removed from the .carton. Then the carton is placed with `its open `end lowermost in a bracket 20,Y having a horizontalv shelf 22 and a depending por tion 24 which is adapted to be secured to vanysuitable support. The 'shelf 22 .is pro"J vided with an aperture 26 through which the cups can be withdrawn, and through which the lower end of the nest-ed cups protrude. Extending upwardvfrom Ithe Shelf 22, on each side thereof, are wings 27 28, 29 and 30, which are arranged to engage and hold the carton in place. The wings 27,

28 and 29 are flared somewhat `.toward their lower portions and inclined to pro-` vide a space at the lower edge of the carton larger than the carton, into which a retainer 32 is fitted. This retainer is preferably in the formof a `piece. of rubber, which maybe annular in shape, resting on the upper surface of the shelf 22 and held in place by the carton, the latter resting upon the upper surface of the ring. This ring provides a yielding frictional engagement with the cups, so that when the lowermost cup is `drawn down through itand freed4 there-from, the ring engages the nextsucceeding cup and holds it with suflicient friction to overcome the friction between the lowermost cup and the next cup above, thusallowingthe lowermost cup to be detime.

In order to secure the carton in position in the bracket 20, and prevent its unauthorized `removal therefrom, an inwardly delected tongue 34 is formed on the wing 30, which is adapted to enter a slit or slot 36 formed in one side of the carton, as shown in Fig. 3. This tongue is on the rear side of the bracketfhidden from view `and inaccessible from the outside of t-he holder; but when the carton is put in place the finger can be inserted through the open end of the carton to guide the tongue into the slot 36. Any upward pull on the carton will cause .the portion 'of the carton below the slit to be wedged between the tongue and the wing .30. lf desired the carton may be provided A holder for individual drinking cups, comprising a carton having its lower end 'open and provided with a lslit adjacent arranged to engage a nest of cups in the carton and allow only the lowerinost cup to be withdrawn therefrom at a time, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have a'flixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES BRANDER FORSYTH.

Witnesses:

CHARLES A. BURRELL, GEORGE CLARENDON Honers. 

